


lost and found

by lilacsilver



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Gen, I Don't Even Know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 09:41:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16037873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacsilver/pseuds/lilacsilver
Summary: A modern, no-powers AU in which Rayla makes poor choices and doesn't get any lunch.





	lost and found

**Author's Note:**

> ...This literally came to me in a dream. I might continue it if enough people are interested.

Rayla was well and truly lost. It was her own fault, really. Runaan had told her not to venture out any further than the hotel lobby by herself, because she’d never been to Katolis before and it was easy to get all turned ‘round and confused.

But her adoptive father was too busy with the annual leadership and management conference for small business owners that he’d decided to drag her to this year to chaperone her anywhere, so for three days now she’d been stuck in the hotel room with a TV that she could only convince to play Katolis’ local news channel and a mini-bar she was expressly forbidden to touch. It was enough to drive a girl mad, so she had finally decided that what Runaan didn’t know wouldn’t hurt either of them and left the hotel shortly after he went down to this morning’s panel.

Half an hour of exploring later, here she was, trying to figure out which of the unfamiliar street signs might lead her back to where she’d come from. The first person she’d asked for directions had eyed her and then turned away, saying something about stupid Xadian tourists to his friends as they walked off. The next one hadn’t even glanced at her.

She sat down on a little bench outside a storefront, doing her best to look dejected enough that someone might take pity on her. No one did, and as the sun climbed steadily toward its noonday peak her stomach began to rumble.

“Watch out!” a little boy cried, right before a streak of yellow fur charged down the sidewalk, knocking over more than a couple passersby. It turned out to be a cat that stopped in front of her and seemed almost to scowl, judgmental in a way only cats could manage.

“Hello,” she said, feeling a trifle foolish. The cat gave her a look that might, on a person, have included an eye roll.

“Bait!” the same little boy called, sounding out of breath. “You know you’re not supposed to run away like that! Come here!”

Bait didn’t move. His apparent owner, accompanied by a taller boy, quickly reached the bench and scooped him up before turning to her.

“Hi! Thanks for catching him. I’m Ezran and this is my big brother Callum!”

Before she could introduce herself, her stomach growled again. Ezran giggled.

“We were just going to get some lunch. Do you want to come with us?”

The older boy -- Callum -- interrupted. “She’s probably got plans, Ez. Come on, Aunt Amaya and Gren are waiting on us.”

“They let you bring yer cat into restaurants here?” Rayla asked. Ezran giggled again.

“It’s got outdoor seating,” Callum said impatiently. “Come _on_ , Ez.”

Ezran, pouting, trailed after his brother. “Bye, Miss…”

“Rayla,” she said. “My name’s Rayla.”

“Oh. Bye, Rayla!”

She watched them go on out of sight, only to drop her head into her hands as she realized that at no point during the brief interaction had she managed to ask them for directions.

\--

As a consequence, she was still on the bench an hour or so later when they passed back by, this time accompanied by a tall woman and a red-haired man.

“Hi, Rayla,” Ezran grinned at her. She smiled back faintly, aware of the woman’s (their Aunt Amaya?) wary eyes on her. 

“Hi, Ezran. How was lunch?”

He happily launched into a mouthwatering description of the sandwich he’d ordered. Embarrassingly, her stomach grumbled _again_ , and he paused mid-sentence.

“Did you not get anything to eat?” He sounded upset. “You should have come with us.”

A look at his aunt indicated that she wouldn’t have appreciated some strange Xadian girl showing up unannounced to a family lunch, so Rayla just shook her head.

“I couldn’t intrude like that.”

“But you’ve just been sitting here this whole time,” Callum put in. It seemed Ezran’s worry was infectious after all.

“…I got lost this morning,” she admitted. “I’ve never been to Katolis before. Runaan said not to leave the hotel, but I’ve been stuck there three days runnin’. Now I don’t know how to get back.”

Amaya signed something, her hands moving quickly.

“Which hotel?” the red-haired man interpreted.

“Uh, the Katolis Grand. Runaan’s at that small business conference. He’s probably noticed I’m gone by now.”

Sure enough, as she glanced across the street, she caught a flash of white hair. He looked furious, crossing the road at a fast clip.

“Rayla,” he said, falsely calm. “I distinctly remember telling you to stay _in_ the hotel room and _out_ of trouble. Say goodbye to your…acquaintances, because we’re leaving.”

She trailed after him, looking back only once. Ezran waved, and lifted a reluctant Bait’s paw to make him wave too.

The little gesture made her laugh.


End file.
